the softness of stillness: resting with precious okoyomon and a teddy bear

there are exhibitions that provoke thought. others stir emotion. but some offer something even rarer, a place to truly be. precious okoyomon’s installation at kunsthaus bregenz is filled with movement, softness, and stillness. on the second floor, a massive teddy bear holds its own against the chaos, a quiet refuge from the world outside.

i had no hesitation, no embarrassment, as i curled up against the plush fabric in the middle of the exhibition space. the outside world dissolved, replaced by the velvety warmth of the teddy. the sounds of divide and dissolve stretched across the room, wrapping around me like waves of relaxation and exitement. their music hums with resistance, with power. it is bold, unrelenting, yet somehow comforting. the droning, layered soundscapes don’t force you to feel anything in particular. instead, they create space for whatever needs to emerge

on the first floor, plush creatures floated mid-air, suspended between movement and stillness. they seemed caught in transition, like something halfway between being born and disappearing altogether. one could feel the violence coming from the robes around the neck of the hanging teddies, but their softness and their wings made it feel absurd. a feeling intentionally created by precious. there is no deeper meaning in violence, it is absurd, painful but yet, not the end.

three days in a row, i woke up with a quiet, growing excitement. it was not for something new but for something i had already found. i spent hours at the kunsthaus, lingering in the therapy rooms, tracing the soft edges of the teddy, absorbing the energy of the space, staying until the last possible moment before the doors closed each evening.

downstairs, the books provided by precious okoyomon became another kind of refuge. highly inspiring, deeply relevant, they guided my thoughts, offering insight for my dissertation, sharpening my own perspectives. it wasn’t just an exhibition. it was a quiet, healing space, a place where art didn’t demand interpretation or response but allowed absorption, connection, and rest.

precious okoyomon’s work didn’t overwhelm. it welcomed. it changed the way i understood art, not as something to be deciphered or conquered, but as something to settle into, to absorb slowly. it matched not only my academic research but my deeper interests in softness, authenticity and creativity. in a world full of overstimulation, this exhibition offered something far more profound—an experience that lingers, that transforms long after you’ve left.